


A World Unseen After Ifs

by kimurasato



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/F, M/M, past rape and implied potential future rape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-23
Updated: 2014-05-25
Packaged: 2018-01-26 04:54:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1675460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimurasato/pseuds/kimurasato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of shorts taking place after A World Unseen, including some scenes that take place prior to the story and "what ifs" that could have happened if things had happened differently in the story.</p>
<p>When a mentor is found for the young telepath, Dash still feels hesitant to learn more about his powers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Mind More Powerful

**Author's Note:**

> The response to All Ships Month 2013 Day 8 Hand Holding is a part of this series.

"I still don't know about this," Dash mumbled, staring up at the sign above the door with a certain amount of hesitation.

"Why? Lancer assured us that he was an excellent telepath," Danny said, but he frowned at the blond man. Taking hold of Dash's hand, Danny gave it a quick, comforting squeeze. "If you really don't want to go through with this, then you shouldn't force yourself. But remember, I'm here to support you. You've been helping me deal with and move on from what happened to me. I want to be able to help you with this."

A small smile tugged at Dash's mouth as he turned his gaze onto Danny. He appreciated that the man was showing his support, but he still couldn't shake the lingering nervousness when it came to discovering more about his powers as a telepath. His experiences in the past soured his opinion of the gift he was born with, and he wasn't certain that he really wanted to learn all that much about it beyond being able to completely shut out other people's thoughts. He still considered it too much of an invasion of privacy by delving into other people's mind. Even simply getting a hint of a thought broadcasting from their minds made him disgusted with himself.

Dash took hold of the handle and yanked open the door. If he could learn control over his power, he might actually be able to do something to help Michael, and that was the most encouraging thought to him at the moment. He was scared of what would happen if he managed to return Michael to normal. But it was a guilt that constantly ate him up inside, and he did want to return Michael's life to him, return him to his parents who continued to hurt over the fact that their son remained in the mental ward of the hospital with no hope of recovery.

They entered the store, and Dash was immediately hit with that smell of worn paper and leather, that dusty scent of a place where time was forgotten, and the silence seemed to stretch on forever. It was like stepping into another world or into the past with the old look of the store with the delicately carved wooden bookshelves. The store was empty, save for the man sitting at the front desk. He looked out of time with his funky hair style, the purple locks twisted out the sides like some kind of horns. Compared to the atmosphere of the bookstore, the man stuck out like a sore thumb with his punk appearance and the tattoos running up his arms and the hoop pierced through his lower lip. The look of the man made Dash even less certain about seeking him out as a mentor.

"Do you want me to go up with you? Or," Danny said awkwardly, glancing about the bookstore, "should I just wander around and let you talk with him?"

Dash hesitated in his response. Even without the ability to read minds, he could see that Danny worried about him but didn't want to be a bother by hovering around unwanted. "This might not take long," he mumbled, throwing a doubtful glance at the man who was supposed to teach him in the ways of telepathy. "I wouldn't wander away too far."

Danny nodded before he headed off to browse through the books on the shelves. This seemed like the perfect place for the man to look for a gift for his sister. After they got the chance to hang out, Dash quickly discovered that Jazz was a bit of a bookworm and enjoyed reading more than just psychology books. But she definitely had a love for those old books, the ones bound in leather or hard covers with pages that had to be turned with care because they were so old.

Taking a breath, Dash approached the man at the front desk. His mouth pursed when the man merely flipped the page in his magazine as he leaned his head on one hand. The man paid no attention at all to the person standing before him, and Dash had to wonder how the man even kept a job when he didn't seem to care at all about his customers.

"It's not that I don't care," the man spoke, making Dash jolt in surprise. His voice was laced thickly with boredom for basically everything. "I just thought I'd give you the chance to speak first. And," he lifted his head, meeting Dash's gaze with eyes that held an eerily red hue, "I happen to own this establishment."

"I guess since you've been reading my mind, you know why I'm here." Dash narrowed his eyes, not pleased with the man already for peeking into his mind.

"I didn't need to read your mind to know the reason." The man closed the magazine and pushed it aside as he sat up a bit straighter. "The witch contacted me recently to tell me that there was a young telepath in need of being taught to use his powers." He folded his arms over the top of the counter and leaned forward. "And if you attempted to, you would quickly find it impossible to peek into my mind. I can teach you how to guard your mind from other telepaths."

"Great," Dash muttered dryly, deciding already that he probably wasn't going to like this man. "But that's not what I care about right now."

"Oh, I know exactly what you care about right now." He smirked slyly as his gaze traveled toward something behind the blond man. Dash twisted around to follow the man's gaze, and his blue eyes landed on Danny, who had pulled a book from the shelf and was leafing through it slowly. "Despite his hesitancy," the man whispered into Dash's ear, and the blond man forced himself not to jump, "he thinks about you a lot."

"We are a couple," Dash growled, snapping his head around to pin a glare on the man, who continued to smirk.

"The mind can be a very powerful thing, you know." The man kept his gaze on Dash for a moment before it slid back to Danny. "With our ability, we can read what people are thinking. We can dive deeper into their minds to uncover their darkest secrets. We can even implant thoughts in other people's minds."

When he heard a clumsy fumble of noise behind him, Dash turned his head as the book Danny held dropped from his hands to thump upon the floor. The raven haired man mumbled a quiet, "Sorry," as he bent down to pick up the book. His face had turned a bright shade of red, reaching even to the tips of his ears. Dash spun around quickly, snatching hold of the front of the man's shirt and yanking him forward.

"I don't know what game you're playing, but you do anything like that to him again, and I won't hesitate to hurt you," Dash threatened with a deadly look in his eyes. Danny had suffered enough in his life with the rape and being killed then brought back to life. He didn't need some telepath messing with mind on top of all that.

The man's mouth pursed as his eerie eyes stared into Dash's eyes, like he was searching for something. "I see." His mouth pulled downward. "That's unfortunate. There's a lot that you can do with your powers. But," he sighed as he extracted his shirt from Dash's hold, "if you're so keen on limiting yourself out of some sense of nobility-"

"It's called being a decent person," Dash snapped, glowering at him. "You clearly don't like having the privacy of your mind invaded either since you shield yourself from other telepaths. I'm willing to learn what you have to teach me, but that doesn't mean I have to like anything about this power."

"Yes, yes. You mostly want to help your little friend Michael. I can read it in your mind as clear as the words in a magazine." His voice was back to sounding bored. After smoothing out any wrinkles in his clothes, he lifted his head with a wicked gleam in his eyes and a smirk stretched wide upon his face. "Now then. You may call me Nocturne."


	2. Distant Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kwan tells Wulf about something he remembers from his past.

He shuddered when he felt a finger run down his spine. "Don't do that," Kwan grumbled as he closed his book and rolled over onto his side to frown at the other man.

"Sorry." Wulf laid down beside him, leaning his head in his hand. "You never told me about how you got that one."

Kwan lowered his gaze, fiddling with his pen. "I'd rather not talk about it."

He had plenty of scars littering his body from when his "parents" got angry at him for any number of little reasons. Sometimes they react with violence for no reason at all. He didn't understand why they almost seemed terrified of him until he learned the truth about what he was. In their eyes, he was a monster that stole the place of their real son. He felt guilty over that, not knowing what happened to the real Kwan, but he had no control over what happened. He was only an infant at that time, hardly developed enough to understand anything about the world around him.

The scar that Wulf meant ran nearly parallel the entire length down his spine. From the base of his neck, the scar reached almost to the end of his tailbone. Kwan tried to block out the memory of that one, wiping it from his mind, and all he could really recall now was the excruciating pain of feeling a blade slice through his back. It took more stitches than he could count, and it remained the most standout of his scars. Amorpho had taught him how to use his magic to heal, but the scars Kwan had were much too old for his magic to erase them away completely.

"Then tell me something else."

Kwan glanced over at the werewolf then sighed tiredly. "Okay. What do you want me to tell you?"

Green eyes looked off to the side as Wulf pondered over the question. "Something from your childhood." A grin spread onto his face as his gaze landed back on the kitsune. "What were you like as a child?"

His mouth pursed as Kwan tapped his pen on his textbook. His childhood? It wasn't like it was full of tragedy, but it was hard for him to think of anything that was happy. "Oh!" he said as a memory popped into his head. "I think I was around four. Maybe. That was a long time ago, so I might be getting the age wrong, but I feel like it was four. Anyway," he laughed awkwardly, "I used to have play dates with other children. I think there was even one time when I had one with Dash." His brow furrowed as he tried to remember that one, wondering why he didn't seem to stay friends with many of those other children. "But the one that really sticks in my mind, is this one time." He groaned in frustration, pulling at his hair. "I can't remember who the other boy was or even what he looked like, but he had a really nice mother. I remember that much." He smiled fondly as he thought more about it. "We had fun running around pretending to be animals. It was sort of like a hide-n-seek game. We'd hide behind furniture, and when the other got close, we'd jump out and pounce on the other. It was pretty fun.

"His mother was pretty good at sewing." Kwan chuckled, running a hand through his raven hair. "She made me these black ears and tail to wear while we were playing. I really liked them. After the play date was over, they dropped me off at home. My 'mom' acted all nice and polite until they left and it was just me and her." The smile fell from his face as his aqua green eyes dimmed. "She yanked the ears and tail off the first moment she could once we were alone. I tried to grab for them. I wanted to keep them. But she smacked me pretty hard." He rubbed at his cheek like he could still feel the sting of pain from being hit. "She lit the fire in the fireplace and tossed them into it. I wanted to get them back. That's how I got this." He showed Wulf his right hand that had faint wrinkled flesh from a burn he received along his pinkie and down to the wrist. "But she held me back until there was nothing left to save from the fire. I was really upset about it and kept yelling and struggling and wanting to get them back even though they were gone. She hit me several times for misbehaving and said I was never allowed to see that boy again. I think I cried myself to sleep that night. I was really sad about losing the ears and tail, but I was even more afraid that the other boy's mom would be upset if she learned that they got destroyed after she was so nice to make them for me. I couldn't even bring myself to face the other boy after that. I thought he wouldn't like me after that, and I was scared of angering my 'mom' again." When he finished, Kwan glanced hesitantly at the werewolf, chewing on his lower lip in worry that the man would suddenly think him silly after hearing that tale.

Wulf blinked at him, remaining silent for some time before he climbed off the bed. Kwan sat up as he watched the man disappear into the closet. That was hardly the reaction he expected out of the werewolf. In a moment, Wulf returned to the bed with a photo album in his hands. When he sat down, he started flipping through it, and Kwan crawled over to lean against him, staring over his shoulder at the pictures in the album.

"Ah, here it is," Wulf announced as he stopped on one of the pages then held the album up so that Kwan could better see the pictures.

"Aw, you were so cute when you were little." Kwan grinned as he hugged his arms around the werewolf. Four year old Wulf in the pictures acted adorably as he tried to pretend to be a ferocious beast. Then Kwan blinked when he noticed the other boy in the pictures. His hold around Wulf loosened as he bent his head forward to stare closer at the pictures. "Wait. Is that... me?" His mouth hung open in surprise when he recognized himself in the pictures. His eyes grew a fraction wider after he realized that the four year old him in the pictures was wearing the black ears and tail that he spoke about in his story. "You," he snapped his aqua green eyes up to stare at Wulf, "were the boy I had that play date with?"

"I didn't even remember this until you said something," Wulf admitted with his gaze still on the pictures from when they were children. "But it sounded so familiar that I was sure there had to be some pictures from it in here." A frown stretched over his face as he turned his head toward Kwan. "I never did understand why I never played with you again after that day. It seemed like we had such a good time, but then you wouldn't talk to me again."

Kwan frowned as he dropped his arms away from Wulf and sat back on his legs. "Sorry," he mumbled miserably.

Wulf set the photo album aside as he turned around to face the kitsune. "Hey," he said gently as he cupped Kwan's face, "I'm not angry." He leaned in and kissed the other man upon the forehead. "You grew up terrified of your so-called parents." He frowned, and a touch of anger toward the Longs showed in his eyes. "After the way they treated you, I'm not surprised you might have thought that other parents would respond the same way if they thought you made a mistake." He drew Kwan into a comforting hug.

Kwan closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Wulf. He savored every hug that Wulf gave him like little treasures, something that he didn't experience very often as a child because the Longs rarely wanted to touch him unless it was to slap him. In Wulf's arms, he always felt safe.


	3. Cruel and Kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cruel words were not foreign to him, but his life wasn't without some kindness.

He held up the dress after he finished the final stitching. It was a strapless number done in a smooth, black fabric with lace bordering the hem of the skirt. It took the better part of a month to complete, but he was satisfied with the result and hoped that Kitty would like her birthday present. After he laid it on his bed, Abner left his room and headed down the hall toward the stairs.

"It's unnatural the way he acts!"

At his father's voice, Abner froze at the top of the stairs, ice running through his veins. It wouldn't be the first time he heard a comment like that leave his father's angry mouth, but every time the man spoke about him, Abner felt a hitch inside him, a gloomy cloud hanging over him like it was saying who he was, was shameful.

"Boys his age shouldn't be playing around with dresses," the man ranted, and Abner cringed back, stepping around the corner and crouching down with his knees hugged to his chest. "Fashion is something for girls to talk about. Not boys! He should be out there playing sports and doing other things boys do. It's because you let him indulge in this ridiculous fantasy that he's so - so _feminine_!" He spat out the word like it left a foul taste in his mouth, and Abner could picture that disgusted sneer on his face and the hatred in his green eyes.

"I believe that our son should be allowed to pursue whatever dreams he has," his mother said, hardly seeming like the raging rant from her husband had any effect on her. "Women have every right to play sports and participate in whatever _you_ consider to be a male only activity or job. Men, in turn, shouldn't feel ashamed for wanting to do something that's considered girly. Abner likes fashion. If he wants to go into designing, I'm going to support his right to choose that as a career."

"This!" his father shouted. "This is exactly what I'm talking about. You-" He paused for a moment. "You always wanted a daughter, and now you're twisting our _son_ into the daughter you always wanted."

There was a bang that made Abner jump in surprise. "I have done nothing of the sort." His mother's voice was laced with a dangerous hint of anger. "Abner chose fashion on his own. I only encouraged him to learn more about it if that's what he was truly passionate about. You're the one that wants to twist him into your image of what a son should be. You can't force him to be what you want him to be. He's not going to be your perfect little puppet. He has his own thoughts and opinions about things and his own interests. Just because you don't approve of them doesn't mean you have any right to make our son feel bad about what his passion for something. If you're going to continue with this negativity, then I want you to leave."

"You can't kick me out." His father snorted, clearly not threatened by her words. "This is my house too."

"Wrong," his mother said confidently. "My aunt left this house to me in her will, and we decided that we wouldn't get enough money in selling it to afford a new house so we kept it. Your name was never added to the deed. You own _nothing_ about this house." A triumphant note hung in her voice.

A crash, glass shattering, had Abner clamping his eyes shut. He hated when his parents started arguing with each other. It was always over him. He buried his face in his knees, wishing that he was anywhere else but there listening to yet another argument at that moment. Maybe if he was different, more of the boy his father wanted, everything would be okay between his parents. Maybe they could have had a happy family life instead of the anger that filled their home.

"I've had enough this," his father shouted, footsteps stomping out of the kitchen into the front hall. "You've never appreciated anything about me after everything I've done for you. I'm done. That's it."

The door slammed loudly, and Abner tried to force out the sound of it echoing in his ears. When a sigh reached his ears, he lifted his head to see that his mother came up the stairs to stand before him.

"So you heard all that." She frowned, sorrow in her eyes as she gazed down at her son.

Turning his head away, Abner squeezed his hands around his knees. "I'm sorry." His gaze fell to the floor. "He left because of me."

"Sweetie," his mother sighed as she sat down on the top step and stroked a hand over his head, "we had problems even before you came along. I thought we could work them out if we just stuck with it, but I guess sometimes a relationship just can't be saved." She placed a hand under his chin and forced him to lift his head and meet her gaze. "You have no reason to feel like any of this was your fault. You have no reason to feel ashamed of having a passion for fashion. You have a wonderful talent for designing, and I love seeing what new ideas come into that amazing mind of yours." She smiled gently, and Abner tentatively returned it.

A knock sounded at the door, and mother and son both turned to stare in the direction of the front door, though from where they were sitting, they couldn't see it. His mother sighed again as she pushed herself to her feet.

"Who could that be?" she wondered out loud, heading down the stairs to answer the door.

Curiously, Abner followed after her. When he peeked around his mother after she opened the door, his mouth gaped open. "Johnny!" He was surprised to see the guitarist since Johnny tended to call or text whenever he wanted to see the other man.

"Well, I'll just leave you two alone." His mother smirked knowingly at him, and Abner couldn't stop the flush creeping onto his cheeks.

Once she disappeared back into the kitchen, Abner stepped up to the front door, opening it a touch wider. "What are you doing-" The words caught in his throat when he noticed that Johnny wasn't alone. His gaze fell onto the dog at the guitarist's side, straining at the leash to reach the dusty blond man standing in the doorway. "Cujo!" he gasped out as he crouched down in front of the Saint Bernard and started scratching at his ears. "Why do you have Cujo?" He turned his curious hazel eyes onto Johnny, who blushed lightly as he glanced away with an awkward shifting of his weight.

"I thought," Johnny started when he turned hesitantly back to Abner, "since you liked him so much, he should belong to you. But you told me your dad doesn't like pets, so," he shrugged like this was no big deal, "I adopted him. My dad isn't big on pets either, but as long as I'm the one taking care of him, my dad won't make a big fuss about it."

Abner stared at Johnny, mouth hanging open as Cujo licked happily at his cheek. Johnny adopted Cujo for him? He could hardly believe it! No one ever did something like that for him. Climbing to his feet, Abner threw his arms around the guitarist, hugging him tightly. "Thank you," he whispered into Johnny's ear, needing something like this after hearing his father speak in such a demeaning manner about his son's dream.

Hesitation practically rolled off the other man before Johnny wrapped his arms securely about Abner's body. "You're welcome," he answered, though he didn't understand what his actions meant to Abner in that moment.


	4. Pride in Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wulf enjoys the times when they race through the forest together.

Wulf tossed a glance to his side and laughed when he saw the other man racing along beside him. Here in the forest where they were alone with only the wild to see them, Kwan didn't bother to keep up with his glamour. Black ears sprouted from his raven locks, and a long wispy tail streamed behind him as they ran. It was one of the few times he got be truly free to be himself, rather than having to hide his appearance from the humans that knew nothing about the supernatural world that surrounded them.

A toothy grin stretched wide across his face as an idea popped into his head. Wulf suddenly launched himself at the other man, tackling the kitsune to the ground. They rolled through the dead leaves on the forest floor, wrestling each other with grunts and growls. Wulf caught hold of the other man's hands and pinned them over the man's head. A wicked smirk pulled at his mouth as he dipped his head down closer to the kitsune.

"And I thought kitsune were supposed to be fast," Wulf whispered teasingly. When Kwan opened his mouth to argue, Wulf stole the opportunity and closed the distance, catching the kitsune's mouth. Kwan grumbled into the kiss before he relaxed and responded back. Wulf loosened his hold on Kwan's wrists, and his hands slid down over the bronze skin of his arms, feeling firm muscles of his biceps. He ate up the moan that escaped Kwan as his hands skimmed down the kitsune's sides. Even with the loose shirt on, he could feel the hard muscles tense beneath his fingertips. When he finally pulled his mouth away, they both gasped in greedy amounts of air.

"You cheat," Kwan grumbled as their breaths mingled.

"Says the one that used an invisibility charm last time to get on top." Wulf's eyes drifted to the man's bare neck, halfway tempted to leave plenty of marks as revenge. He couldn't deny a bit of possessiveness when it came to Kwan, which left his brain whispering at him that he needed to leave his mark on the kitsune to show everyone that Kwan was taken. His mother mentioned it once when he was still young. When a werewolf met a mate, it was common to want to drive off others from sniffing around his mate.

Kwan lifted his head a bit and nipped at Wulf's nose, drawing the werewolf's attention back to him. "You're always staring at my neck." An eyebrow raised in question at the werewolf.

Wulf sat up, letting a hungry grin slip onto his face. "What can I say? It just looks so tempting." His upper lip drew back to reveal slightly sharper than usual teeth.

Kwan blinked. Then his hands shot up, pressing against Wulf's chest to hold him back. "No, no! You are not leaving more bites on my neck." Despite his protest, his face flushed dark red at the memories of Wulf nipping at his neck; his thoughts made even more evident by that awkward little wiggling shift that Kwan did under him.

Before they could continue any further with their activities, they both grew tense, their heads snapping at the same time to stare in the same direction. A scent was on the wind as a crunch of leaves reached their ears. They weren't alone in the forest, and it wasn't simply an animal wandering through the woods.

"I smell gunpowder," Wulf whispered as he climbed slowly, quietly off Kwan, who moved into a crouch. It could be an average hunter, searching for deer or some other game animal. But there was still that chance that it was hunter looking for something supernatural to kill. Amity Park was supposed to be safe from the supernatural hunters, but every now and then, one managed to get close enough to make a kill.

"Single man," Kwan mumbled, his aqua green eyes narrowed in the direction of the hunter. His hand whipped out and seized hold of Wulf's arm in a tight grip, nails nearly biting into his skin. "I smell wolfsbane."

Wulf tilted his head up, sniffing at the air. He smelled it too, the scent making his nose wrinkle unpleasantly. Definitely not a normal hunter after all. His gaze slid to his side where Kwan was tense and ready to spring. Kwan still preferred not having to fight if it could be avoided, but if a hunter showed up looking to kill a werewolf, Kwan wouldn't sit idly back. Ever since he left the house of his "parents" and moved in with the Grays, Kwan learned how to fight better from Valerie, deciding it was best that he knew how to defend himself and protect the people he cared about. Wulf liked watching them spar.

Wulf was the same, though. Kwan was his boyfriend, his lover, his good friend, his mate. Wulf had to keep Kwan safe. Taking hold of Kwan's wrist, Wulf dragged the kitsune to his feet and turned in the opposite direction of where they heard the hunter. They were both fast on their feet and could out run a normal human. Some might consider running away an act of cowardice, but Wulf saw no reason in putting their lives in danger just to prove they were brave. He didn't want to take a life to protect Kwan and himself if it came that, and he didn't think killing was anything of which to be proud. Protecting the family he made was what would make him feel truly proud.


	5. Eavesdropping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abner is the most important thing in her life, and she just wants to watch over him and keep him safe.

She wouldn't say that her life was all bad. Her husband turned out to be someone quite different from the man she fell in love with and married. He used to be much nicer to her. Until she gave birth to the son he always wanted, and then Abner didn't turn out the way he wanted. She frowned as she scraped cookies off the baking tray and onto a big plate. It never mattered to her what interests her son took up, so long as they weren't things like drugs and alcohol and being cruel to other people. Abner was a sweet boy, and she didn't think it a big deal that his interests were considered "girly." Her husband, however, couldn't look past it, always wanting Abner to forget about his passion for fashion and take up things like sports. Sports weren't going to make Abner happy though. She didn't want her son forced into something that would make him unhappy.

Her husband didn't return after their last argument, and she wasn't going to complain about that. She had fallen out of love with him, and Abner seemed much happier without him around. But she worried. She had the pet clinic, which brought in a decent amount of money. But what if it wasn't enough? Her husband was the big money maker between them.

"Did Kitty like the present?" Abner questioned, sitting in the front room with the young man that had come to visit him. He brought Cujo with him, which immediately put a smile on Abner's face as he hugged the dog.

She tried not to eavesdrop, but she couldn't help herself as the two of them sat on the couch and watched a movie. Johnny had a reputation in town. Actually, it was his father that had the reputation, but it seemed that reputation followed Johnny around like a bad shadow, whether it was true or not. She didn't want to be one of those judging parents that gave him the stink eye without getting to know him, but she also had her son to consider. She didn't want Johnny hurting her son in any way.

"Yeah, she loved the dress," Johnny answered, and both of them spoke with that shy awkwardness in their voice. "She says thank you, and she owes you something good in return."

"What?" She caught Abner shaking his head as she glanced through the doorway into the front room. "She doesn't owe me anything," Abner insisted. "It was a gift. I made it for her because I thought she would like it as a birthday present."

Johnny chuckled, and she caught a flush growing on her son's cheeks as he bowed his head and hunched up his shoulders. "That doesn't mean she can't want to give you something nice sometime as a thank you."

"O-Oh." Abner dropped his gaze as he scratched behind Cujo's ears.

She couldn't help smiling as she finished removing the last of the cookies from the baking tray. They sat with some space between them, but she hadn't missed when she walked by earlier and they yanked their hands away from each other, thinking they were fast enough for her not to catching them holding hands. It was obvious to her that they both liked each other very much, and so far, Johnny hadn't displayed any behavior that might make her worry about them starting a more intimate relationship. He was sweet around her son, treating him kinder than he might some other teenagers. He was patient while teaching Abner to play the guitar. The rumors about Johnny weren't quite as accurate as most people believed, and she was glad for that.

"So how are you doing?" Johnny questioned. She waited by the doorway to the front room, waiting for a better moment to walk into the room. "You know, after your dad left."

"Better." Abner bobbed his head. "I don't have to worry about him getting angry at me. That's always nice. I do worry about my mom though." She frowned at that statement. "I don't want her to be lonely. But I'll be heading off to college soon. I want her to find a nice guy that will treat her right. And, well, you know, doesn't mind that I'm not some macho man." He laughed awkwardly, and it pained her that her son felt any shame in being himself.

"You don't have to be a macho man," Johnny said, and Abner twisted his head around to stare at the other blond man. "You're perfectly fine the way you are. You shouldn't feel less because someone kept trying to force their ideals of what you should be onto you." His cheeks were turning pink, and he couldn't look at Abner as he spoke. "I - I like you as you are."

"R-Really?" Abner's voice cracked as he asked. She couldn't see his face, but she was certain that his cheeks were bright red.

Johnny scratched at his cheek with one finger as he nodded. "Y-Yeah." He glanced toward Abner, and his cheeks darkened a few more shades. "I really like you."

Their heads were tilting in toward each other, and she took that as her cue to be the annoying parent. "Who wants fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookies?" she asked as she strolled into the room, pretending to be oblivious to the fact that they were just inches from kissing each other. She came to stand before them in front of the couch as they sprung apart from each other. Their faces were varying degrees of red, and neither of them could look at her as she smiled at them, holding out the plate of cookies. Maybe she could have allowed them to kiss, but they looked cute when they got all nervous and blushing around each other. To be honest, she missed that kind of feeling toward someone. She hadn't felt that jittery nervousness that came from being around someone she liked a lot in a long time. She hoped they clung onto the way they felt around each other for as long as possible.


	6. Beach Retreat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dash and Danny escape the group for a quiet moment together.

"So the lessons are going well?" Danny asked as his toes dug into the cool sand. They had tried to make plans to come out to the beach alone, but once Paulina overheard them talking, she blabbed it to everyone else, and after that, their whole group tagged along with them. So much for the big romantic weekend they thought about having. Everyone else was down the beach, sitting around the fire they built in front of the beach house they rented out for the weekend. Danny managed to grab Dash's hand and lead him away from the rest of the group so that they could have a few moments to themselves.

"I'm getting better," Dash said with a shrug as he leaned back on his arms. "Nocturne still thinks I'm too much of a stiff."

Danny snorted at the mention of the other telepath.

An eyebrow arched curiously as Dash stared at his boyfriend. "You really hate him, don't you?"

"Hate is pretty strong." Danny frowned, staring out at the water washing gently over the sand and the glitter of moonlight shimmering over the dark surface. "I don't," he struggled for a moment, his nose wrinkling up, "feel comfortable around him. I don't really - It's like every time I'm around him these weird thoughts keep popping into my head."

"I told him to _stay out_ of your head." A growl rumbled in Dash's voice, his fingers curling into the soft sand.

Danny reached over, closing his hand around Dash's, and the contact still sent a little flutter of panic through him. "It's okay," he said quietly. "I'll just keep away from him whenever he teaches you." His hand squeezed Dash's as he stared, blue eyes shining with worry at his boyfriend. "But I do like to hear about how it's going."

Dash sighed, and his anger seemed to leave him with that exhale. He turned his hand over, lacing their fingers together as he held onto Danny's hand in a warm, strong grip. "I'm getting closer. I really hate it, but I can't learn how to do it without _actually_ doing it. But it always feels wrong putting myself into someone else's mind and poking around inside it. Nocturne thinks the gift is wasted on me. He takes too much pleasure in playing around in people's heads. If there was any other telepath to teach me, I'd drop him in an instant."

"But you still want to help Michael."

Dash nodded, his blond locks ruffled by a long day of playing around with the others. He squeezed his boyfriend's hand, and Danny's brow wrinkled as he watched the struggle on the other man's face. "If it were possible," the hesitation in Dash's voice worried Danny, "Nocturne could probably teach me." He turned his head and lifted their hands together, tapping a finger to Danny's temple. "I could probably lock away those bad memories." But he frowned, not so much in doubt but at the idea of doing anything in Danny's head. "If that's something you'd ever want, I could have Nocturne show me how to do it."

Danny stared into Dash's gaze. It wasn't just the worry about messing around in someone's head that troubled him. Dash worried about how he was progressing in his recovery from what happened to him. Danny's free hand absently touched his left side where the scars of his death remained. If it was Nocturne suggesting it, Danny would flat out say no to the offer. He didn't want anyone in his head, messing with his memories, especially someone that he didn't trust. Dash was another story. Dash, he trusted, and he knew Dash would never do anything more to him than try to erase his memories of the rape and death. And that made it difficult. He knew that what happened to him wasn't something to just lock away and pretend it never happened. But he also wanted to forget and be normal and be able to do stuff with Dash without anxiety creeping up on him to the point that he would push Dash away and have to take a moment to be able to breathe again. It sounded tempting but also too good. Who knew how locking away the memory would actually affect him? Would he still be the same, only without all the anxiety? He just didn't know, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out the answer.

"No." Danny shook his head. "I know I still have a lot to work through, but I should just keep talking to Lancer and pushing through this. I don't want you to force yourself to do something you're uncomfortable with either."

Some relief filled Dash's eyes, but he still frowned. "I just - I don't like seeing you in pain."

Danny smiled as he leaned over and caught Dash's mouth. "I'm going to be fine." It was getting easier to be intimate with Dash, kissing him, touching him, but he could still feel a thrum of tension course through him every now and then. He hoped in time that would fade away until he never felt that anxiety again, but he also knew the memories would never leave him. Maybe that was okay though. It was okay because he really liked Dash and Dash was patient with him, never pushing him. It was okay because he had family and friends that all supported him and helped him work out his problems. He kissed Dash again, smiling at the sigh that escaped his boyfriend. He freed his hand from the man's grip then slid his fingers through the untamed blond locks. He tasted the salt of the sea spray on his sun kissed skin. Dash's hands carded through his raven hair, danced down his pale neck, looped around his waist to tug him closer. His movements were slow, cautious, always careful and waiting to see if Danny would push him away. Danny waited for that moment too, because as much as he enjoyed kissing Dash and wanted to keep kissing him and touching him, he knew it was only a matter of time before it overwhelmed him.

"You do realize you're in plain view of everyone, right?"

Danny sprung away from Dash with a blush burning across his cheeks. Twisting around, he saw Dan, crouching behind them with his chin balanced in one hand and an annoyed glare in his eyes. Things were still... strained between Dash and Dan. A tension always filled the air when they locked glares, and Danny knew it was because of him. He told Dash about how Dan would sometimes sleep in his bed, driving away his nightmares, and Dash wasn't exactly pleased. Even though Danny suspected he wanted to say something, Dash never yelled at him to kick Dan out of his bed. Maybe it was simply because he didn't want Danny suffering nightmares if it could be helped, or maybe he even understood a little of the bond that the two had formed in the dark world where they first met after the incubus killed Danny. Whatever the reason, Danny was just glad that Dash and Dan were trying to cut back on their head butting, though they still did plenty of that.

"We should probably rejoin the rest." Danny climbed to his feet and offered a hand to each of them. They were each important to him, and he didn't want to lose either one of them. The three of them walked back down the beach to where the fire still burned and the laughter from the others could be heard. Danny was sandwiched in the middle, and he knew Dash and Dan were probably glaring at each other behind his head, but that didn't matter. He hooked his arms around theirs, laughing as he ran forward, dragging them along with him. Dash and Dan didn't need to get along with each other as long as they were always in his life.


	7. In Your Presence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life was never pleasant for Desiree, but things are definitely looking better for her.

"I don't want the summer to end," Desiree groaned as she rolled over onto her back, laying on the bed in Paulina's room. The end of summer meant they had to start getting ready for college. The only good thing about college, that she could think of at the moment, was that she would be going to the same one as Paulina, even managing to get matched into the same dorm room as the other woman. The downside, other than all the work they would have to do, was that they were bunking with two other roommates in the dorm room.

Paulina turned around in her chair at the vanity as she twisted her long ebony hair back so that it was out of her face. "I don't think college will be all bad though. It'll be fun getting to live away from my parents and be out on my own, meeting new people." A glow of excitement practically radiated from her as she stood. Her expression fell into a frown as she met Desiree's gaze. "But I guess you already know a lot about living on your own." She took a seat at the foot of the bed.

Desiree hunched up her shoulders. "What are parents to a genie?" She didn't mean the question to draw such a sad expression from the other woman, but the guilt stabbed at her when Paulina stared miserably down at her. "My life wasn't all bad though." She smiled, reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind Paulina's ear. "Getting to act normal in a high school - Well, okay. That wasn't exactly great fun." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Though it did have some perks, like being popular. But I got to meet some really great people." Fondness entered her gaze as she held Paulina's emerald eyes with her own. "I'm glad I was given the chance to be my own master."

The corner of Paulina's mouth quirked upward in a small smile. "I'm glad I finally got to know the real you. Until I understood what was going on," she huffed out a sigh, "I thought you were a real bitch."

The laugh bubbled out of Desiree, and laughing felt good. It always felt good when she was with Paulina. "Well, I pretty much was a bitch. Especially toward guys." She didn't miss the shift in Paulina's expression, the pain shining through as she could only imagine what the genie experienced. She turned her gaze away, trying not to let any of those terrible memories surface again. "But not all guys are like that." She rolled her eyes. "Dash ended up being a better guy than I would have thought. And Danny," she smiled a little, but it was sad, "is really nice." She never would have wished him to go through what he did. Even if it was just one time compared to her many times, that didn't diminish his pain and suffering at the hands of the incubus.

"They seem really happy together," Paulina murmured softly. "I think Dash is exactly what Danny needed to start healing." She leaned back on her arms. "Okay. Maybe a little of Dan too. Maybe just all of us. But mostly Dash. Some other guy might have been impatient or gotten fed up with it, but Dash isn't the type to pressure him when he isn't ready. Danny needed someone that could be patient and help him through this at his own pace."

Desiree stared Paulina for a while before a curious thought prodded at her mind. "You saw that their auras matched up right away," she said thoughtfully.

Paulina glanced down at her with curiosity in her gaze. "Yeah. Their auras were really suited to each other from the beginning. Not like how, you know, Skulker's," she gagged at the name, "clashed with Kwan's. But then, their relationship was never about romance. Thankfully!"

Desiree nodded. She was thankful for that. She was glad that Skulker was finally locked up where he couldn't hurt anyone. She was relieved that his intentions were never to sexually assault Kwan. She was happy that Kwan found someone that would protect him and keep him safe and give him the family and happiness he longed for. It seemed like too many of them, the supernatural beings of Amity Park, had tragedy in their lives.

"What about me? What do you see in my aura?"

Paulina gave her a considering look. Placing her hand on the other side of Desiree's body, she leaned over her, emerald eyes squinting slightly as she explained the aura that only she could see. "There's darkness," she said, frowning sadly, and Desiree knew she already had a pretty good guess why she saw that. "But it's not as overpowering as it used to be. There's more," her mouth pursed and her head tilted, "contentment, like you're okay with yourself now. More than you were before. Happiness too. And," she turned her gaze away, "love. The love is clouding over the darkness, which is good."

"But you've never seen anyone that matches with my aura?" Desiree prodded curiously.

Paulina shook her head.

"Can you see your own aura?"

A frown pulled down at her mouth as Paulina shook her head again.

Desiree nodded, absorbing that information into what she knew about Paulina's powers. Then she pushed herself up from the bed, balancing on one arm as she reached up to brush her other hand over Paulina's cheek. "I hope you don't rely on that to find love for yourself." She tilted her head up just enough to catch Paulina's mouth for a moment. There was still that nervous twist deep inside her, that familiar fear of being intimate with someone. Her past masters had never been kind to her, using her for their own pleasure and not caring how badly they hurt her, tearing into her without mercy.

But Paulina was not her master. Paulina was not demanding. Paulina was nothing like the masters that ruled her in the past. Tension melted a touch from Desiree's muscles as Paulina followed the genie's retreat, capturing her mouth for another kiss. It was gentle, their mouths moving against one another as Desiree leaned back on the bed and Paulina hovered over her. With Paulina, it was the first time in years, decades, that Desiree actually _wanted_ to be intimate with someone, though she knew it would never be so simple as wanting it to drive away the fear and anxiety completely.

When they parted, Desiree bit her lower lip, gazing up at Paulina. "I'm sorry," she whispered, almost as if she was expecting to be struck for not complying fully with her master's desires. "You'll have to patient with me."

Paulina smiled kindly, threading her fingers through Desiree's hair. "This kind of relationship is new to me." She rolled off Desiree and moved to lay down beside the genie. "Slow is good. I'm okay with that. I never," she blushed a faint pink, "thought about being with another woman. I'm okay with it. I just - I need to adjust to it."

Desiree rolled onto her side, leaning her head into her hand. "Take your time." She reached over, caressing Paulina's cheek. "I'm in no hurry to rush you into anything." She was glad for the years she spent getting used to others' touches again, retraining herself not to flinch away, because she liked being close to Paulina, simply laying next to her, being in the other woman's presence. She felt relaxed and calm when she was around Paulina. She sighed happily as she rested her head on Paulina's shoulder, who curled an arm around her waist, and they stayed like that, simply soaking in the other's warmth.


	8. Bonds of Blood and Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A question stirs in his mind, and Danny seeks out answers from Lancer.

"You had a question for me?"

Danny lifted his gaze away from his hands as he picked absently at the dead skin around his thumbnail. Ever since the truth came out about everything with his parents, things became a lot more relaxed for him. He could actually talk to his parents about things, and they always had a million questions for him and his friends when it came to their powers or being some supernatural being. They found it especially interesting when they learned about Kwan and Wulf since they believed it odd for a werewolf and a kitsune to even get along, let alone be in a romantic relationship. Valerie really liked talking to his parents because it was easier to talk about the whole hunter thing with them than her father who hadn't known much of anything about that side of his wife and her family.

Danny stared at Lancer leaning against his desk. The door to the classroom was closed, and everyone from the class had left ages ago. Danny remained behind, wanting to talk to his teacher about something. Out of all his teachers, Danny felt closest to Lancer. The man was a witch, who offered him advice on controlling his powers, who was counseling him to move on from what happened to him. It was slow progress, but he felt most comfortable speaking to Lancer about it.

"I've kind of had something rolling in my mind for a while now," Danny explained, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck. "Um," he bit the inside of his cheek, chewing over how to say what was on his mind. Then he took a deep breath, deciding it was probably easiest to just blurt it out. "I have these ice powers." He absently waved a hand in front of him, causing flakes of snow to appear briefly. He got pretty good at that, making snow and ice and frost appear. "And I wondered, um, is it possible that my parents, or at least one of them, has powers? Like dormant or something?"

Lancer frowned at him, arms folded over his chest. Danny had that sinking feeling that he already knew the answer to his question, but he waited for his teacher to voice that answer out loud. That was the only way that it would actually feel real to him.

"It would probably make things easier on you if I were to say yes," Lancer said then released a tired sigh. "But your parents have no supernatural heritage."

"Then," Danny struggled, brow furrowing as he dropped his gaze to his hands, "why did this happen to me? Not that I don't appreciate the powers. I like them. I just," his eyes snapped back up to his teacher, "don't understand why I ended up with them. If one of my parents had something like this, even if they didn't know anything about it, it would at least explain why I have them. But they don't. My sister doesn't. So why do I have them?"

Lancer pushed away from his desk and moved to crouch in front of Danny. He took his student's hands, giving them a comforting squeeze despite the icy touch. His green eyes flicked around for a moment as if he saw something in Danny that his student could never see.

"I think the reason for your powers," Lancer said gently like he wanted to be careful of upsetting Danny, "isn't simply that you died and your necromancer friend revived you. Your situation was unique. I can't deny that. But those revived by a necromancer don't usually come out of it with random powers like that."

Danny frowned in his confusion as he thought over those words. "So then," he shrugged helplessly, "why?"

"My best guess would be because of Dan. You two connected in that world your soul was trapped in after that incubus killed you." Lancer held Danny's gaze, knowing how much of a struggle it had been for Danny to even be able to talk about that event in his life. "Your souls bonded in a way that Dan probably didn't even expect. When you showed up, he saw you as a way out. You were just going to be a ride that he piggybacked on to escape the hell of that world. I doubt he ever realized that in doing so, he was feeding power into your soul. I don't know why you ended up with ice powers when Dan has fire. This thing that happened with you and Dan isn't something that commonly happens. A lot of it might be something we never fully understand."

Danny knew that made the most sense. After the ritual that Lancer performed with the help of the English teacher Mr. Gore, his powers became stronger and easier to call up and control. He also developed the new abilities from Dan like flying and turning invisible and being able to phase through things and, of course, the Ghostly Wail. The only difference in their powers was that Dan used fire and Danny wielded ice. His powers came from Dan. That made the most sense. He wasn't sure why he hoped for his parents to have some sort of latent abilities. Maybe it was just a connection that he wanted to have with his parents, something that they had in common. After dying and being revived, after discovering his powers, he didn't feel all that human anymore. Maybe if his parents had powers too, Danny wouldn't feel like he lost something with his parents, even though they never stopped loving him.

"Daniel," Lancer held tight to Danny's hands, "where your powers came from isn't important. You have them now, and your parents will always love you."

Danny's gaze fell away. "I know. I just - It's still hard. Sometimes I still feel wrong in my own skin." He frowned, staring at their hands, Lancer holding on tight to his hands.

"That's a totally understandable feeling. You died and your soul was shoved right back into your body. You might always have that feeling lurking inside you, but that doesn't mean you should feel wrong about yourself. You are loved by many." Lancer turned Danny's hands up, his sleeves slid back enough to show off faded scars upon his wrists. "Don't lose sight of that. We'll all be here for you."

"Thanks," Danny mumbled with a small smile tugging at his mouth.


	9. Future Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny and Abner discuss plans of their future.

"Are you excited?" Abner glanced hesitantly at the man beside him as they walked through the park, the dog tugging eagerly at the leash. Cujo wanted to run ahead and play with the other dogs or chase after birds and squirrels, and each sudden jerk on the leash made Abner stumble a step or two before he managed to reign some control and keep the dog from knock him off his feet and dragging him along the ground. "About going to college?"

It was a nice summer day where it was warm but not so hot that they felt like melting under the sun beating down on them. Johnny wore a loose plain black shirt under his leather biker jacket, without which he seemed to never go anywhere. His shoulder length blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail. His shoulders hunched up for a brief moment; his hands already shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

"More school?" Johnny snorted. "Why would I be excited about that?"

Abner frowned as he turned his gaze away. "I'm happy for you." He stopped and turned to the other man. "Because you mentioned before that you didn't think you would even be able to get into college, but you got accepted and you're going. And I'm really happy for you."

Johnny scratched just behind his ear, glancing away as his mouth pursed grumpily. "I know that," he murmured with maybe just a hint of coloring on his cheeks. "It's just that it's school, so it'll probably be boring."

"Do you know what you might be studying when you go?" Abner nearly fell over when Cujo gave a sudden hard jerk with a bark. Johnny grabbed hold of the leash, helping the shorter man hold back the dog. His other arm wrapped around Abner's waist, steadying him. Abner kept his gaze lowered as a blush crept upon his cheeks.

"Well," Johnny said with some awkwardness, though he didn't bother to remove his arm. "I sat down and talked about things with Lancer. The college I'm going to has a really good music program. But I know making it big as a musician isn't a very stable career choice. There's no guarantee that I'll make it big playing guitar. No matter how good I might be. So I'm going to take some business classes. I was thinking I might come back here and open up a bar." He kicked at the ground with a foot as his mouth pressed thin. "I know. My dad's a big drunk. But just because I want to run a bar doesn't mean I have to drink anything. I'm not going to end up like him."

"I believe you."

Johnny stared at Abner, and the corner of his mouth threatened to pull upward. Abner always seemed to have a firm belief in everything he did. What surprised Johnny the most was that he never doubted that Abner was being one hundred percent honest with him. It was, if he admitted it out loud, an amazing feeling to have someone believe so fully in him, especially after most of the town thought he would be nothing but a drunk like his father. Even he had fallen into that belief for a while until Abner convinced him he didn't have end up like his father.

"Lancer said, when I'm twenty-one, it would probably be a good idea for me to get a job bartending somewhere so that I can soak up everything I can about working at a bar and see how to run it. A good learning experience he said." Johnny shrugged like it was no big deal. "When I do get the bar set up, I want to have Lancer put up spells on it. Protection type stuff. You know, keep it safe from fire. No violence within it. That kind of stuff. And," he reached up, releasing his hold on the leash, to tug at his ear, "Ember would be welcomed to play there any time she wants."

Abner grinned up at him in that way that told Johnny without words that the shorter man was proud of him. "That's nice. I bet Ember will love playing there." He gave things some consideration, tilting his head so that his blond hair brushed over his shoulder. "After fashion school, I could return here and see about setting up a little boutique or something." Then that bright as the sun smile was on his face again. "I could look into getting work at some kind of boutique while I'm at school and learn about running it and all that stuff."

"I guess we have our lives planned out." Johnny's mouth quirked into a small smile. There was a relief that settled over him, a calm in knowing where his life was heading and that they could work to build their life together. After the breakup with Kitty, he wasn't even sure what he was going to do with his life. He didn't have a career in mind, and without Kitty, even thinking about getting some kind of job seemed less important. But Abner had definitely helped in opening his eyes and setting him on a path of figuring out his life.

Johnny leaned over, brushing his lips over Abner's forehead in a soft, tentative kiss. When he pulled back, Johnny glanced down to see a burning blush upon his boyfriend's face. Abner lifted onto his toes to leave a peck on the guitarist's cheek. Then it was Johnny's turn to flush lightly. Taking hold of his hand, Abner grinned and pulled Johnny along as they continued walking Cujo through the park.


	10. Coffee and Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vlad arrives in Amity Park for the first time and tries to acquaint himself with his new home.

"And that would be the school," the man said as they arrived back at the principal's office. "Our resident witch has kept up the spells upon the school to protect vampires from sunlight so you don't have to worry about walking the school halls during the day. Just so long as you don't step outside of the building."

Vlad nodded along as the man spoke. He had been in Amity Park for all of five minutes, but he already felt a weight lifting off his shoulders now that he wasn't locked up at one of the council's headquarters in Europe. It didn't erase the horrible guilt that ate him up inside every second of his life since his unfortunate encounter with the vampire Marquis. He resisted that urge to reach up and rub at the spot where he was bit, a habit he developed whenever he thought back on that moment in his life. If he had only returned to America when his friends did, his life wouldn't have turned out like this. He wouldn't have become the very thing that he had hunted with his friends.

His chest hurt thinking about Maddie and Jack. Maddie who had been the love of his life when they first met in college, but he doubted she could ever learn to love the monster that he had become. He had taken the lives of too many people to feed his hunger by order of his sire.

"They've told me that you've studied hard to take over this position, so I assume you don't have any questions for me."

Vlad blinked, turning his gaze onto the man. Like him, the previous principal was a vampire, far older than Vlad. His skin was a sickly blue and his eyes glowed red after dropping the illusion charm that made him appear normal. "Why are you stepping down from this position?" The question spilled from his lips before he realized it had formed in his head. "They told me that you were the principal at this school for the last forty years."

"It seemed like time for a change." The corner of the old vampire's eyes crinkled. "They told me that they had a young vampire in training to take over one of the schools, so I decided it was finally time to step down and hand the reins over to you. I've heard good things about you, so you have my faith that you'll do well watching over the students here." He clapped his hands together. "Now then, since the sun is still up, I'm going to relax a bit before I can catch a plane out of here. Amity Park is nice, but I haven't gotten to see the outside world in forty years. I need a change of scenery." He patted Vlad on the back before he wandered off down the hall to find some place to lay out and relax until nightfall.

Vlad watched him go, and in the silence that fell afterward, he found himself feeling lost. For so many years now, he had spent all his time focused on achieving the goal that the council set out for him. He seized it, the opportunity to do something with this worthless life that Marquis gave him after turning him. But standing there alone in the hall with nothing to do, he realized that he had lost touch with how to deal with people. He didn't exactly have what he would call friends among the people that worked in the council.

Wandering down the halls of the school, his feet absently carried him to the teacher's lounge where the prior principal told him they kept bags of blood in the refrigerator for any vampires on staff. He pushed open the door and slipped silently into the lounge, but he halted when he saw someone else was already there. The balding man stood at the counter near the coffee maker as he stirred the steaming coffee in his mug. He was a bit overweight, his belly hanging somewhat over his belt. Lifting his hand, he made a casual flick of his wrist, and a page in the book that hovered at eye level turned.

_Ah_ , Vlad thought as realization dawned on him. This man was the resident witch that the older vampire mentioned.

The man plucked the book from the air as he picked up his mug. When he turned around, his green eyes remained on the book his hand, lost in the story he was reading. Vlad strolled over to the refrigerator to grab one of the packages of blood. The door slammed shut a little louder than he meant it to, catching the witch's attention. His green eyes snapped toward Vlad, flicking briefly to the blood bag in his hand then back to his face.

"So you're the new principal," the witch said with his mouth pressed thin.

Vlad nodded slowly as he walked over to grab a mug from the cabinet. "And you are?" He lifted an eyebrow as he glanced toward the man and pulled down a mug.

"Mr. Lancer," the man answered, setting his book down on the table at which he sat. "And that's Coach Tetslaff's mug. You don't want to drink from that. She'll knock your lights out just for touching it."

Vlad frowned at the mug in question. He certainly didn't want to make enemies among the staff before he even had his first official day as principal. "Is there a mug here that I can use without pissing anyone off?" He placed the white mug with flecks of color dotting it back on the shelf where he found it.

Lancer stood and walked over to him. After a moment of searching, he retrieved a mug of navy blue and handed it to him. "This one's never been used."

"Thanks," Vlad said as he took the mug, his fingers brushing briefly over Lancer's hand before the witch pulled away.

Lancer folded his arms as he leaned against the counter and watched as Vlad poured the blood into the mug. "You're never going to be happy if you keep allowing your past to weigh you down."

Vlad froze in the middle of putting his mug into the microwave. He turned to stare at the man beside him. "What?"

Lancer rolled his eyes. "I'm a witch. I may not be able to see auras, but I can read lines of power. In you, I see that you think yourself a monster for what you've become."

Vlad slammed the door of the microwave shut as he rounded on the witch with anger flashing in his dark blue eyes.

Lancer laid a hand upon his chest as if to hold him back. "I try lend an ear and offer help to my students if I see them struggling with something. I may not be a proper counselor or have any degrees for psychology, but I care for my students and their well being. I was only trying to say that if you ever feel the need to talk about things with someone, my door is always open."

Vlad stared at the hand on his chest as the rush of anger slowly flickered out. During his time under the council's constant watch, none of them had ever offered to help him sort out the trouble of feelings twisted up inside him. It was strange for him to have someone he only just met offering him more care and kindness than the people that surrounded him for years. In a way, it only brought back his memories of Maddie, and Jack if he was honest. Whenever he was feeling down, he could always count on them to be there to listen to him and try to cheer him up.

"Perhaps in the future," Vlad said, turning his gaze back to the microwave as it beeped. His blood was suitably warm enough for him to drink. He took it out of the microwave and brought the mug to his lips. Other vampires might find it disgusting to drink packaged blood, but he preferred it this way. It had always made him feel sick to drink from a living person, knowing that he was draining their life away. And the feel of when their life expires in the middle of feeding? It made his stomach churn uncomfortably. "What was that you're reading?" he asked curiously as his gaze darted back to the man.

"Ah, just a spell book," Lancer answered, leading the way back to his table. He didn't press the vampire to lay out his problems on the table for him, and Vlad was thankful that the man at least wasn't pushy. They sat at the table, discussing various topics as they enjoyed their coffee and blood. Maybe fitting in at this school wouldn't be so difficult after all.


	11. What I See

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vlad has taken to spending his evenings sharing meals with a certain teacher.

The transition went fairly smoothly. On the day following his arrival, the school held an assembly to announce him as their new principal. Lancer introduced him, and Vlad had to make a small speech. He was thankful that he had prepared something ahead of time so that he avoided making a fool of himself by stumbling through some rambling speech that put the students to sleep. That would hardly gain him respect from the students over which he was meant to watch.

In the months that followed, Vlad got acquainted with the rest of the staff. And several of the less well behaved students. Lancer helped him memorize the list of whom was supernatural and whom was human. The job would be a hundred times easier if everyone in the school was supernatural, but there were far too many humans to risk any of them revealing themselves. The humans weren't even the worst of it though. According to Lancer, there was a family of hunters in town that they needed to keep a constant watch on for the safety of every supernatural being within Amity Park.

"Can't we just run them out of town?" Vlad questioned as they sat at the table in Lancer's dining room. It was a Saturday night toward the end of the school year, and the sun had set hours ago. He sipped from a mug of freshly warmed blood while the man sitting across from him ate a meal of oven roasted chicken and mashed potatoes. Sometimes, he really missed the taste of food, but since becoming a vampire, food had lost its appeal to him.

"They have yet to pose any harm to our students," Lancer replied, though he hardly looked pleased by the situation. "By the law of the council, we must allow their presence until they've attempted harm to any supernatural creatures living in our town."

"Pig's blood!" Vlad swore, recalling when some of the other childe's under his sire would use that phrase whenever they were angry. To them, the idea of drinking the blood of animals was considered a punishment. "Why should we sit with our hands tied while they lurk in the shadows trying to pick us of one by one. By the time we're allowed to do anything, it will have already been too late."

"Do you really think I haven't thought of that a million times already?" Lancer's green eyes snapped up to glare hard at the vampire. "Because I think about every second of every day, just waiting until I get that call that tells me that someone is hurting our students."

Vlad stared for a moment before having to lower his gaze. Oh. He hadn't paused to think about how long Lancer had lived in Amity Park before him, teaching at the high school and watching over the students. Lancer lived here for years, decades, longer than Vlad. Naturally the witch would feel the frustration and anger of a known danger living within the town but lacking the power to do anything to stop the eventual tragedy the hunters would cause because of some law created decades before either of them were even born.

"My apologies," Vlad said, and he was finding it easier to say such things after his time talking with the witch. "I forgot just how green I am at this job."

A beat of silence; then a slow smile appeared on Lancer's face. "And you're doing an admiral job at running the high school so far." He picked up his glass to drink the ruby red wine half filling it. When he set the glass down again, he lifted his gaze to the vampire. "Do you still consider yourself a monster?" His eyebrows lifted as he absently ran a finger over the rim of the glass, a soft melodic tone ringing from it.

Vlad frowned at the change of topic, but it was something they spoke about previously. Since his arrival in Amity Park, Vlad had spent much of his free time conversing with the witch. Their talks tended to eventually lean toward discussing his problems. Only over the past two months did Vlad admit that he saw himself as a monster, undeserving of the love of the woman he had thought he loved in college. The feelings for Maddie lingered but not quite as strongly. On most days, now, he rarely even thought about her. Perhaps, he thought, he should take that as a sign that he was moving on from her. Perhaps he could love again. But who love him in return when they learned what he was?

"How else should I consider myself?" Vlad knew the witch could already read him. Lancer had shown in the past that he could tell how the vampire was feeling based on his lines of power, reading the energy within him. "I've killed several people in my life. I drained away their lives to feed my hunger. If not a monster, what am I?"

"Vlad, you are not like the vampires that you ran with before the council found you." Lancer held him with a serious gaze. "Where they felt no remorse over taking a life, you did. Where they rejoiced in the slaughter of innocent lives, you shied away from it. You were given a second chance to live doing something of worth, protecting lives instead of taking them. I do not see you as a monster. I see you as a man that was forced to endure a painful past at the hands of his torturers." He reached across the table to take hold of Vlad's hand and squeezed it firmly. "I only hope one day you can see yourself as I do."

Despite himself, a smile found its way onto Vlad's face. Even if he only saw a monster in himself, he was happy that someone saw him as something else.


	12. Misreading Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His life could be summed up in one word: Boooooring. But maybe he was about to meet someone to add a little spice to his life.

Things were _boring_. He didn't want to admit it, but having a student to train actually brought a bit of entertainment into the dull monotony of everyday life. It amused him to watch the conflict in the young man as he struggled to gain control of his powers but rejected actually using them to pry into other people's minds. He had some sort of moral code that his teacher simply lacked.

Of course, he enjoyed it when Dash brought along his boyfriend. What was his name? David? Darren? Darrel? Ah, yes, it was Danny. He nodded to himself as he remembered the name. He liked peeking into Danny's mind when he was off guard, slipping thoughts into his head that got a reaction out of him. Dash, however thanks to that pesky moral code, didn't approve of him doing such things, so Danny stopped coming along for Dash's training sessions.

But now he didn't even have those short interruptions in his day to entertain him. His student had left for the school year to attend college, and he was left to work his tedious job at the bookstore, waiting on slow browsing customers to either buy a book or leave empty handed. With a sigh, he flipped the page of his magazine, waiting on something interesting to happen to distract him from his boredom.

Nocturne picked up his cup of coffee when a thought prickled at the edge of his awareness. His gaze lifted, though he kept his head bowed, and he quickly scanned around the bookstore for the owner of that thought.

_Just go up and say hi. That shouldn't be too hard to do_.

Nocturne made another sweep around the bookstore, but there were only a handful of people present at the moment. A young woman with her dull brown hair braided down her back looked rather plain as she crouched to read the titles of the books on a lower shelf. Two young boys had a book open before them and were trying to keep their snickering quiet. Nocturne guessed they had found one of the books with pictures of naked people to amuse them. A large man stood in the aisle where there were several books on various diets.

Then there was a man hiding behind one of the bookshelves. His thick eyebrows drew together, and determination flashed in his ruddy brown eyes. His skin was a dark olive color with his face freshly shaved. He wore a black shirt with an odd logo on the front. It had a red circle within a green one and bright yellow lightning bolt stabbing through the center. His leather jacket had spikes on the shoulder, and his head was mostly shaved except for two locks of brightly dyed green hair that were twisted up like jagged horns. In all, his appearance looked as out of placed in the bookstore as Nocturne's own.

But who was the man trying to get the courage up to speak to was the question on Nocturne's mind. Certainly not the two little boys. They were barely over ten years of age each. Nocturne lifted an eyebrow at the large man, but he doubted that was the subject of Mr. Lightning's attention. That left the woman, who he still didn't find all that attractive, but people had different tastes.

The two boys left the bookstore, and Nocturne heard their loud laughter once they stepped outside. They thought they had gotten away with something, looking at naughty pictures under the noses of a few adults. Nocturne noticed everything that happened within the bookstore. He simply didn't care if a couple of boys wanted to look at pictures that their parents would probably find inappropriate. They weren't his problem to deal with, after all.

Mr. Lightning followed the boys with his eyes then flicked his gaze back to the woman and the large man. _Maybe I should wait until we're alone_.

Nocturne snorted at the thought and pretended to be absorbed in his magazine. It seemed Mr. Lightning forgot that he could never be truly alone with the person he wanted to speak to when Nocturne was there too. But maybe he believed he could get away with it if they spoke in hushed tones so that the bookstore employee wouldn't overhear them. Nocturne rolled his eyes and wondered why the man was bothering to make this grand stand of finally speaking to the woman here at the bookstore. It wasn't exactly the most romantic of places to "accidentally" run into someone.

After some more time, the large man came up to the counter with some diet books to buy. Nocturne quickly rang him up and handed him back his change. Once he had the bag of books in hand, the large man exited the store. Nocturne waited on the man to make his move on the woman. But it didn't happen. The woman disappeared into a far corner of the bookstore where she was practically hidden from sight. It was the perfect spot to go unseen to have a secret meeting.

Mr. Lightning blocked his view of where the woman disappeared to, and Nocturne lifted his head, pretending the man had distracted him from his magazine. He scowled at the man, but he was more confused than angry. Mr. Lightning set a book down on the counter, and Nocturne gave it a quick glance. The cover showed a tornado coming down from the sky about to rip through some little farm house. Nocturne lifted a curious eyebrow as he scanned the barcode on the back of the book.

"That'll be sixteen twenty-nine," Nocturne said, watching as the man fumbled for his wallet.

"So," there was an odd hiss to the man's voice when he spoke that made Nocturne think of snakes, "do you like working here?" He handed over a twenty dollar bill that was crumpled up like someone had crunched it into a ball and tossed away.

Nocturne wrinkled his nose as he tried to flatten it a bit before giving up and just shoving it into the register. "It's all right," he answered as he got out the man's change. "Boring a lot of the time." When he handed over the money, he swore he felt a shock as their fingers brushed each other. "Sometimes I meet interesting people."

"Oh?" Mr. Lightning leaned on the counter while Nocturne placed his book on tornados into a bag. Confidence practically radiated from him as his mouth tugged into a smirk. _Just be cool_ , his nervous thoughts whispered into Nocturne's head, making his brow wrinkle slightly. "Ever go on a date with any of your customers?"

Nocturne was saved from an embarrassed fumble for a response when the woman came to the counter to buy a few books. He scanned the barcodes, taking his sweet time as he tried to work everything out in his head. Mr. Lightning hadn't been waiting to talk to the woman? He had been trying to get up the courage just to talk _him_? Nocturne struggled with that idea because no one generally cared to talk to him. Most people just thought he was a weirdo. Like the woman right now who wished he would hurry up because she didn't like his tattoos or his purple hair, which he had been too lazy that morning to twist about in the semblance of horns wrapping around his head. She thought he was some sort of Satan worshipper.

_I probably sounded like an idiot ___, Mr. Lightning was thinking with a mental groan, though his outward appearance showed complete indifference. _He probably thinks I'm some weird freak now. Good job, Vortex. Nice one_.

Nocturne blinked when he thought he saw a tiny dark cloud gathering over the man's head. His attention was ripped away from it though when the woman snatched the bag from his hands and hurried out of the bookstore. "Well, I think it's safe to say that a lot of my customers don't really like me." He laughed, but it sounded strained and awkward to him.

"They're idiots then." Vortex leaned on the counter again, laying one hand out so that it almost touched Nocturne's hand. His skin looked a bit darker when it was placed next to Nocturne's own paleness. Vortex wore a crooked grin. "I think you're highly fascinating."

Nocturne stared at the man, but he didn't hear any thoughts of that suggested the man was lying. He laughed and shook his head. "I don't know why you would even like me. I'm not exactly a nice person."

Vortex shrugged. "Who says I'm a nice person too?"

"You're terrible at hitting on someone."

"So you don't want to get a drink with me?" Vortex's eyebrows rose up in disbelief.

Nocturne gave it some thought. "Okay. I'll meet you at Trance tonight. Ten o'clock. You're buying." He grinned as the man agreed. Maybe he could have some fun with this.


	13. Confusing Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan always grew angry and frustrated when he spoke to Clockwork. Their latest encounter only made his thoughts about the man even more confusing.

"You didn't go with him?"

Dan jerked his head around, sending a scowl toward the teacher that was, to his great annoyance, lingering in the classroom long after school had ended. "Shouldn't you, oh I don't know, _leave_?" His upper lip drew back in a snarl, his hands tightening around the broom handle. "I have classrooms to clean."

The man rolled his eyes, a smile tugging obnoxiously at his mouth. "I'm just surprised that you didn't follow Danny when he went off to college."

"No you're not, you future reading freak," Dan growled. Somehow, the history teacher made dealing with him for five minutes feel more like fifty years. They had only known each other for a year, ever since Danny got his witchy teacher to perform a ritual that allowed Dan to have his own body, and every time they bumped into each other, Dan could feel an uncontrollable frustration rising in him. For whatever reason, Clockwork drew out the anger in him.

"I know all possible futures," Clockwork laced his fingers together, grinning as he rested his chin atop his hands, "but I don't necessarily know what future people will choose based on their choices. I guide things toward a future that seems best for all those involved, the futures where casualties are at a minimum. But I try to avoid taking away people's freedom to choose their own ways in life. You could have gone with him, if you so desired."

Dan resisted as hard as he could the desire to throw down the broom in a fit of rage directed at the teacher. His hands tightened a bit more, his knuckles aching. "Weren't you the one that kept suggesting I should give Danny his space?" His eyes narrowed and very nearly flashed red. He barely managed to contain his rage. Because even if they were alone in the classroom, he couldn't risk exposing that he wasn't entirely human if someone _happened_ to enter the room at that exact moment.

"I did, yes." Clockwork nodded his head, his mouth twitching with amusement. "But like I said, it was entirely your decision whether to follow my advice or completely ignore it."

Dan huffed as he turned his head away, staring out the window. It was winter again, a light layer of snow having fallen already, though not enough to cancel school. In a week or two, Danny would return from college to spend his winter break with his family. Dan was invited to come over for a big Christmas dinner. He needed to remember to buy some presents for the Fenton family before then.

"Danny's grown a lot stronger," Dan mumbled, his mouth thinning. He almost hated that fact, knowing that Danny wouldn't need to rely on him anymore. "He's not quite there with the whole being intimate thing with that blond bonehead, but he's slowly adjusting." His jaw clenched tightly. One of these days, Danny would be able to have sex with Dash, and Dan knew when that happened, he would be completely unneeded in Danny's life as a source of comfort.

"You'll always be a part of his life." Clockwork merely smiled softly when Dan snapped a glare toward him. "He might move on from what happened to him, and he might grow into a strong fighter. But you'll always be someone important to him. You shared a connection when you were in that dark place together, and that is not a bond that can be easily severed. He will always think of you, and you will always think of him. Even if it's not love, of the romantic sense, that you share between you."

Dan scowled. Even if that was true, it didn't stop the fact that Danny was moving forward with his life. Dan had a job and a place to live. That was great and all. But he didn't really have much outside of that. He spent time with Danny's parents, and they always seemed happy to have him, and always had about a million more questions to ask him about his powers and what he was and what was the dark world like and what he thought that place was exactly and so on.

"Dan," Clockwork said, interrupting the janitor's thoughts, "while you and Danny might be tied together, that doesn't mean your life holds no meaning without him." His fingers unlaced as he placed his hands upon the desk then stood. "If you let your mind be wrapped up solely around Danny, and it's admirable that you want to protect him and keep him safe, you'll never find your own place in this world." He walked around his desk, leisurely strolling toward the janitor. "He did not give you a body and life of your own so that you could live in his shadows."

"What exactly are you getting at?" Dan frowned as the teacher breathed out a heavy sigh, like he couldn't believe how dense Dan could be.

"You really are clueless, aren't you?" Clockwork rubbed at his head.

"Oh, sorry. It must be really painful for you, Mr. All Knowing, to have to deal with us poor pathetic unknowing ones," Dan grumbled, and it was so, so very tempting to just whack the teacher with his broom or something else. Assuming that the man didn't already read that in the future and moved to avoid it. "You must suffer from so many headaches and wonder why we're so stupid that was can't figure out any-"

Talking was, he discovered, rather difficult when someone had their lips crushed to his own. Dan's eyes grew wide in shock, and before he could jerk his head away, Clockwork wound an arm around his neck, tugging the janitor closer to him. The broom was trapped between their bodies, pressing uncomfortably into his chest, but his mind was more focused on the lips moving against his own. He had, of course, seen Danny and Dash kiss before, but he had never given any real thought to what it would feel like to kiss someone.

"You're thinking too much," Clockwork murmured with barely a breath separating their lips.

"I don't think it's appropriate for the janitor and a teacher to be making out," Dan blurted out, his brain still taking a small vacation. What the heck was that even? Clockwork wasn't supposed to kiss him! The history teacher frustrated him! He was annoying! Dan shifted awkwardly. Clockwork was still standing far too close to him.

"Do you really think I would kiss you if I knew someone was going to walk in on us?" Clockwork smirked, and Dan could almost picture the man as evil.

"I'm still trying to figure out _why_ you would kiss me."

"I thought that would be obvious." Clockwork's fingers threaded through the raven locks of the janitor's disguise, and Dan _tried_ to hate the feel of those fingers. Damn it! He was getting all confused now. "Hm, perhaps I'll leave things there for now. I've given you enough to think about, and I wouldn't want your brain to explode."

Dan swallowed as Clockwork stepped away from with a wicked smirk that promised more encounters like the one they just shared. Then the teacher walked over to his desk, bending over to grab his suitcase. Dan forcibly tore his gaze away from staring before Clockwork stood up straight then left the classroom.

"Stupid future reading freak," Dan muttered to the empty room.


	14. What If Trophies Talked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is lost when Danny wakes up to see that they failed.

Danny shivered, the world a blur of silver before his eyes slowly coming into focus. His head throbbed painfully, like someone slammed a thirty pound bowling ball against it. The thump of boots upon the floor echoed in his ears, and Danny jerked his head around to search for the source of the noise. Dread settled like a lump in his throat when his eyes landed upon the man that came to stand over him.

With a terrified shout, Danny scrambled away from him. His back pressed against the wall as his arms shot up then... nothing. Panic flared through him as he stared at his hands. He had practiced this! He had trained under Dan to learn how to use his ice powers. But nothing happened when he tried to call upon them.

"Ah, ah, ah." The man reached out a hand, and Danny flinched away from him. He hooked a finger under a collar that Danny hadn't even realized he was wearing. Then with a sharp jerk, he pulled Danny closer to him so that faces were mere inches apart. "I'd be careful about trying to use those nasty little ice powers. You'll get a fairly bad shock if you keep drawing on your powers." Bright green eyes flicked toward the left. "Our little fox friend is still recovering."

His breath came in short, panicked gasps, but Danny followed the man's gaze. "Kwan!" he shouted and tried to scramble toward where Kwan lay on the floor just a few feet away. The jock had bruises and cuts, new ones, but they weren't healing like the kitsune had learned to do from his mentor. Danny didn't get far before the collar yanked him back, tightening around his throat and choking him.

"He's still alive, if that's what you're worried about." His captor braced one hand on the wall and leaned over Danny. "His value would go down if he was dead, after all."

Anger managed to wrangle past the fear, and his blue eyes hardened as he glared at the man before him. "We're not trophies that you can collect, _Skulker_ ," Danny growled, trying his best to look intimidating, but if he couldn't use his ice powers, he wasn't sure how he could get them free of Skulker.

A chuckle bubbled out of the alien, like Danny had just told some amusing joke. Then Skulker leaned down, and Danny couldn't escape with the wall at his back. Skulker's face was too close. Danny's heart hammered in his chest. Flashbacks to the night almost a year ago rampaged through his mind. He couldn't breathe, his throat constricting and his lungs refusing to expand enough to let enough air fill them.

"But that's where you're wrong," Skulker whispered, and Danny jumped when the alien dropped his hand onto his shoulder then slowly ran his fingers up pale flesh before he seized hold of Danny's throat in a tight grip. "You _are_ my trophies. And," Skulker pressed his lips almost close enough to brush over the curves of Danny's ear, "I can do anything I want with you. As rare and unique as you are, you're no royal treasure. Your pathetic planet can make complaints all they like, but there's nothing they can do now to get you back. You and the fox are _mine_."

Not all of what the alien said reached him. Danny couldn't stop his body from shaking, and his vision was starting to turn a bit fuzzy around the edges. Weak and powerless. He remembered that feeling when the incubus had him pinned to the ground, and it was how he felt in that moment, unable to do anything to save himself from the alien. There was a look in Skulker's eyes that reminded him too much of incubus, that hungry desire.

"If I wanted," Skulker continued with a smirk. His hand fell away from Danny's throat, and then suddenly, Danny felt the hand pushing up his torn and dirty shirt, skimming over the pale flesh hidden beneath it.

Danny kicked out with all his strength as he screamed in terror. Skulker stumbled back, surprised by the sudden attack. Then Danny turned his back on the alien, pressing his hands against the cool metal of the wall as he bowed his head. His stomach wrenched painfully, and it felt like the incubus had torn open his side for a second time. The bile burned on the way up his throat, and the vomit spilled out of him, splashing upon the spotlessly clean floor. It felt like all of his insides were trying to expel themselves from his body, and for several moments after his stomach was empty, he kept heaving, trying to force out what was no longer there.

"I'm going to have to make improvements to those limiters," Skulker muttered.

Danny slowly lifted his head, gasping with the foul taste of vomit clinging to his mouth. His vision was blurred, and after he blinked, hot tears spilled down his cheeks. Then he stared numbly at the frosty patterns upon the metal, spiraling outward from where his hands touched the wall. It was something that just sort of happened, usually when he was walking barefoot through the cemetery. Frost was left on whatever his bare skin touched. But he couldn't see how that would help him now. He couldn't exactly frost Skulker to death, and it would be even more useless if Skulker really could block even that ability. The tears fell again as he sobbed, a pathetic sound as his fingers curled, clawing at the metal. The only thing he had to look forward to was a future of living as Skulker's trophy, his _pet_ , for the rest of his life. Danny crumpled to the floor, hugging his arms around him as he cried, praying that somehow his parents might rescue him. That Dan and Dash would manage to find him. That anyone he knew could save him and Kwan from this horrible fate.


End file.
